New York Minknit

Am I the only person who finds status updates on Facebook a bit stressful? Mine are decidedly un-witty. I don’t think I can Twitter, because even writing Facebook status updates makes me anxious. Anyhow, I’m blogging from my parents’ house, because my mom suggested, correctly, that I should refrain from visiting my dad while I have a sore throat, because he’s in and out of surgery and we don’t want him to get infected with a cold. For those of you who know my dad in real life (or are just interested), we’re still not sure what’s wrong with him. They found these large tumors in his pancreas and kidney, but the pathology department can’t get a read on what kind of cancer it is, and in fact, the oncologist thinks it may not be cancer, but a different kind of tumor. So my poor dad is being wheeled in and out of surgery to get more tissue samples, though my mom reports that he is holding up better, and making Seinfeld jokes. EDITED TO ADD: My mom just called from the hospital. The doctors are awaiting final diagnosis from Stanford, where the samples have been sent, but they think it might be lymphoma, which is actually great news, because it is generally treatable, unlike other cancers. So we’re still waiting and hoping.

Here’s the first log cabin patch for my dad’s blanket. I’m following the basic Mason-Dixon Knitting instructions and inspired by the muted colors of the Amish quilts.

I also started Kate Osborn’s silk kerchief, with the exact same colors she used. What can I say? I’m a follower.

My garter yoke sweater (from Knit.1) is almost done–I just need to finish up one sleeve and knit the other one, but it’s sort of a big project and not very portable, so it’s been on hold for a bit. (The auto-photo function on this camera is broken, hence my weird arm shots.)

Here is the loud monkey socks (photographed up close with my mom’s camellias). Normally I like the challenge of lace, but in the past few days, I’ve put these on hold as as well, too.

I agree with Sarah’s comment yesterday about waiting rooms, that they really could be improved. My dad is at California Pacific Medical Center, which I had not heard of, but which all my friends in the Bay Area keep calling CPMC. (One of my friends today clued me in–she pointed out that when I was growing up, it was called Children’s Hospital.) Another friend of mine who is a doctor pointed out cheerfully that residents at CPMC are considered to have landed a cushy gig (along with UCSF and Stanford), because the food and hospital atmosphere is supposed to be nicer, and the patients wealthier and more insured. (As she jokingly said, “Just like your dad, Moneybags.”) So I know, especially compared to some of the larger hospitals that serve indigent populations, this is already one of the nicer facilities in the Bay Area, and I know with shrinking budgets, the money is more urgently needed for doctor salaries and equipment, and I definitely think that is where the money should be spent, and not necessarily on glamming up the waiting rooms.

That said–and the CPMC’s waiting rooms already are quite nice, with tvs and such–I do think they could use a bit better lighting and just generally a more cheerful atmosphere. To acknowledge my secret tv watching obsession, this is actually a plot line on Brothers and Sisters, where Nora Walker (Sally Field) is trying to build some sort of recovery house for cancer patients and their families. But I am sure the main reason why the waiting rooms are depressing is because of the reason why you are in the waiting room, rather than the atmosphere itself.